Healthcare and Electrical Safety Flashcards
7 cards from real CABT practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Healthcare and Electrical Safety flashcards as text
An electrically susceptible patient (ESP) is one who has a direct conductive pathway to the heart. The ventricular fibrillation threshold for such a patient is approximately:
Answer: 10–20 µA
Current as low as 10–20 µA applied directly to the myocardium can trigger ventricular fibrillation in electrically susceptible patients.
The 'source leakage current' measured during medical device safety testing represents current flowing:
Answer: From the power source through the chassis to ground without any external patient load
Source leakage current (also called chassis or enclosure leakage) flows from the power-line conductors through insulation to the chassis and then to ground.
Which organization publishes the Health Care Facilities Code that governs electrical safety requirements in US hospitals?
Answer: NFPA
NFPA 99, Health Care Facilities Code, published by the National Fire Protection Association, sets US electrical safety standards for healthcare environments.
During preventive maintenance, a technician measures 0.15 Ω between two metal IV poles in the same patient room. Per NFPA 99, this finding indicates:
Answer: An unsafe condition exceeding the 0.1 Ω limit
NFPA 99 requires that resistance between any two exposed conductive surfaces in a patient care vicinity not exceed 0.1 Ω; 0.15 Ω exceeds this limit.
Which type of power outlet is required by NFPA 99 to be supplied by the emergency essential electrical system in an operating room?
Answer: Red-colored receptacles connected to the critical branch
Red receptacles in ORs are connected to the critical branch of the essential electrical system, ensuring power during a utility failure.
A biomedical technician notices that a defibrillator's internal batteries have a charge but the device fails the leakage current test when powered by AC. The most likely cause is:
Answer: Degraded or damaged AC power supply filter capacitors allowing excess leakage
Failed or aged EMI filter capacitors in the AC power supply provide a low-impedance path to ground, significantly increasing measured chassis leakage current.
The term 'patient environment' or 'patient care vicinity' as defined by NFPA 99 refers to a space extending:
Answer: 6 feet horizontally and 7.5 feet vertically from the patient bed edge
NFPA 99 defines the patient care vicinity as a zone 6 feet horizontally from the bed edge and up to 7.5 feet above the floor.